Dutch border cannabis cafe closure boosts Breda coffee shop sales

Cannabis-selling cafes in Breda are reporting a 31% increase in sales since the closure of similar cafes in the border towns of Roosendaal and Bergen op Zoom, news agency ANP reports, quoting city council figures.

Nevertheless, the nuisance caused by the cafes, known as coffee shops, has not increased as feared, the council said.

Six out of 10 new visitors come from the Netherlands, the rest from Belgium, the figures show.

Mayor Peter van der Velden said Breda will monitor developments until September, a year after the Roosendaal and Bergen op Zoom cafes were shut down. ‘We are on top of things and will take action if necessary,’ he was quoted as saying.

The border town cafes were closed last year on the order of their councils because of the problems caused by drugs tourists. Each town had four coffee shops, serving some 25,000 drugs tourists a week.